Vacuum-drier.



F. l. STOKES.

VACUUM DRIER. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 11. 1914.

1,151,417. Patented Aug. 24,1915.

FRANCIS J'. STOKES, 0F PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

VACUUM-DRIER.

Specication of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 24:, 1915.

Application led September 11, 1914. Serial No. 861,161.

T0 all whom t may concern Be it known that I, FRANCIS J. SToKns, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Vacuum-Driers, of which the following is a specification.

The principal objects of the present invention are, first, to provide a vacuum drier in which the agitatedl material or powder carried off with the exhaust is completely recovered in a substantially dry state, in which it requires no treatment to reclaim it; in which such recovery of the powder or other material is accomplished Without affecting or otherwise interfering with the creation and maintenance of the required vacuum; and in which the vapor removed in the drying operation can be recovered in its original condition and without contamination or change; second, to simplify and lighten the v piping ofthe apparatus, to economize room, and to provide, if desired, for a horizontal arrangement, and third, to avoid stoppage of the condenser and vacuum pump by material carried over with the exhaust, and to effect efhcient and complete recovery of the material carried over with the exhaust.

The invention will be claimed atithe end hereof, but will be first described in connection with4 the embodiment of it chosen from other embodiments for the sake of illustration in the accompanying drawings, in which is shown partly in elevation and partly in section a vacuum drier apparatus embodying features of the invention.

Referring to the drawings l is a vacuum drier of the type in which the material being dried is agitated. la, is an exampleof agitating means. 2 is a condenser and` 3 is a connection from the condenser to a vacuum pump not shown. Each of these parts are well known in various forms. The

vacuum drier is provided with means as 4' for heating it and with exhaust connections 5, which are connected with the vacuum pump and condenser.

In use, damp or moist powder or pulverulent or other material is fed to the drier, either continuously or intermittently and it is dried by heat applied to the drier and by the action of the exhaust, by which the moisture is removed. The agitation of the material and the action of the exhaust from the drier carry ofi some of the powder or the exhaust connections 5 and it serves tocatch the solid material that may escape from the drier 1. Furthermore the bag 6 catches this material in its original condition so that when recovered it does not require to be subjected to any reclaiming op-L eration.

7, is a cover that may be removed in order to take out the bag 6 and its contents.

8, are steam jackets which are an example j of heating means that can be appropriately applied in the vicinity of the bag 6 and its connections, so as to prevent condensation of moisture and collection of liquid in the bag or the connections, so as to insure that moisture may be condensed in the condenser 2. The effect of the bag 6 upon the creation and maintenance of the vacuum or exhaust effect is negligible and the bag may be disposed either vertically or horizontally, which is desirable since` the pipe connections can be simplified. Furthermore, the bag is light and takes up very little room.

In use material is dried in the drier and any part of it that is carried from the drier by the exhaust is recovered in its original condition in the bag 6, from which it can be readily removed and recovered. Vapor removed by the exhaust from the material in the drier is not subjected to dilution or contamination and may be recovered in the condenser 2. As has been stated the apparatus is simple, eiiicient, compact and capable of any convenient arrangement.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art to which the invention relates that modifications may be made in details of construction and arrangement without departing from the spirit of the invention, hence the latter is not limited as to such matters nor in any way further than the prior state of the art and the appointed claims may require.

I claim: Y

1. The combination of a vacuum drier, provisions of the drier which cause agitatiOn, exhaust connections lfrom the drier, ex,-

hausting means for said connections, and a bag interposed in said connections and adapted to retain particles or solid material carried over from the drier and to permit of the passage of vapor undiluted and uncontaminated.

2. The combination of a vacuum drier, exhaust connections for the drier, a bag interposed in said connections for catching solid material, and means for heating said connections to prevent condensation of vapor therein, substantially as described.

3. The combination of a vacuum drier and condenser, exhaust connections from the drier to the condenser, a bag in said connections for catching solid matter, and heating means for said connections to prevent condensation therein and to insure condensation in the condenser, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto signed my name.

FRANCIS J. STOKES.

Witnesses:

M. T. MONTAGUE, CLIFFORD K. CAssEL. 

